The Quadcross of Nations has three-rider teams representing each country in a total of three motos. Each moto has two riders from each country, with one starting on the second row. Our riders Jeffrey Rastrelli (2) and Thomas Brown (1) grabbed good starts, and the team came up one point away from a perfect score.

QUADCROSS OF NATIONS

Last updated Feb 13, 2019

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— USA repeats as world champs —

By the staff of Dirt Wheels, Photos by Anthony Brebant

The Quadcross of Nations has three-rider teams representing each country in a total of three motos. Each moto has two riders from each country, with one starting on the second row. Our riders Jeffrey Rastrelli (2) and Thomas Brown (1) grabbed good starts, and the team came up one point away from a perfect score.

The United States has a long history of international competition. In motorsports, the U.S. has been a long-time supporter of the MX of Nations for motocross motorcycles. It was a race that the U.S. dominated for many years. The Quadcross of Nations is a single event that decides which country is the world Quadcross champion. The event has been around for a relatively short span of 11 years.

2018’s event was held in Denmark, and the conditions were quite different from most U.S. tracks. Note that in addition to the tire ruts, there are sprocket and disc ruts between both tire ruts.

In 2017, the U.S. fielded a team for the first time in Italy, and the team made use of the familiar hard dirt and won with Chad Wienen, Joel Hetrick and Thomas Brown. For 2018, the event was held in Slagelse, Denmark (Germany for 2019). Wienen and Brown returned to the team, but Jeffrey Rastrelli was the third rider, with Mark Baldwin of Baldwin Motorsports returning as team manager.

Jeffrey Rastrelli was a first-time member of Team USA, and he acquitted himself well. He was fast and consistent, and he kept his machine together.

The U.S. team for 2018 consisted of (left to right) Jeffrey Rastrelli, Chad Wienen and Thomas Brown. Thomas broke a chain in one moto, and that became the team’s throw-out score.Thomas Brown suffered a broken chain, and that DNF was the single throw-out the team was allowed.

IT’S ALL DIFFERENT

Being entered as one of the 18 countries participating doesn’t get you in the event. Timed practices were the first hurdle, and all three U.S. riders were in the top four. Then there were three qualifying races where the U.S. riders earned two wins and a second place. Brown and Wienen won their qualifying races, while Rastrelli was second in his. That put the U.S. in a strong position for the final day’s three-moto format.

This Dutch special uses a 2015 Honda CRF450R motorcycle as a donor. The parts are combined with a Dutch-built quad chassis. Find out more at www.crqfquad.com.

During each of the three motos, there are two riders from each team per moto. Brown and Rastrelli were in the first moto with one rider on the first row, and the other rider on the second row. Brown came from the second row to lead but broke a chain, so Rastrelli claimed second. Each country gets to throw out one score, so the USA was still in good shape barring another disaster. Wienen and Rastrelli had the second moto, and they went one-two for a perfect score despite ruts so deep that the machines were getting high-centered.

The European riders accustomed to racing sand tracks ran some unique tire combinations to deal with the deep ruts.

FINAL MOTOFOR THE 2018 TITLE

Former Yamaha teammates Wienen and Brown were together in the final moto. Again, the U.S. riders earned first and second for a perfect score. Throwing out Brown’s DNF put the U.S. one point away from a perfect score with 8 points. That was still well ahead of the Irish in second with 39 points and the Netherlands filling out the podium in third with 44. Norway and Great Britain were fourth and fifth.